Freedom of speech should not be silenced

The attack on Charlie Hebdo is a blatant attack on free speech rights by threatening to bomb and kill anyone who criticizes the Islamic religion.

It appears to be working, considering almost all western publications refuse to republish the cartoons out of fear of retaliation.

The offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine in Paris, France, was attacked by Islamic terrorists on Jan. 7th.

Ten employees at Charlie Hebdo and two police officers were killed in the attack and three suspects were captured or killed by French police a few days later.

One suspect, the girlfriend of one of the terrorists, is still at large according to French authorities.

A branch of Al-Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for this savage attack, reports CNN.

It’s not the first time this has happened before either.

In the past Charlie Hebdo was the victim of a firebombing in 2011 after changing their name to “Charia Hebdo” in one issue, referencing the Muslim Sharia law and inviting the Muslim prophet Muhammad to guest-edit the issue.

Many have been quick to label Charlie Hebdo as a “racist” publication, but in reality the satirical magazine has poked fun at almost everyone and anyone ranging from Christians and Jews to Buddhists. Islam is a belief system and not a race.

The cartoons are not making fun of Arabic people, they are criticizing a belief system and branding a publication as racist in attempt to silence it is an affront to a free and open society, I believe.

Islamic law condemns any artistic rendering of the prophet Muhammad, which is fine for people of the Islamic faith.

However, the moment you start forcing your faith upon others, especially with violence, it is not correct in any way.

The Catholic church, which has been mocked by Charlie Hebdo in the past, has taken the stance that religion should be exempt from freedom of speech.

On Thursday, Jan. 15 Pope Francis said, “If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch, it’s normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”

I believe religion, like all other ideas, should be open to mockery and criticism.

Without it how would we have a truly free society and be able to view things as they really are and not how others want us to view them?